Forbidden Love
by thequeenofmalcontent
Summary: They'd been hiding their feelings for so long; they knew both the Magical and Muggle worlds forbade their relationship. But after the war, after all of that bloodshed, they no longer cared. (Hermione x Snape) All characters and references to Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling.


The battle was over. Harry had won. Voldemort was gone. Hermione sat in the Great Hall surrounded by the Weasley's and her friends from school as an eerie calm descended upon the castle. It really _was_ over. Everyone was celebrating, but Hermione couldn't. She was frozen. She'd tried everything to save her _beloved_ Professor. Essence of Dittany, Strengthening Potions, Blood Replenishing Potions, even the mangled incantation Harry had told her that Snape had used to save Draco in their 6th year.

Everything and he still was dead. She was frozen. He was gone. She'd lost him.

As everyone began celebrating their victory, Hermione broke. She let the weight of her loss wash over her, and she let herself fall apart. No one knew, of course, a professor-student relationship was taboo in the wizarding world just like it is in the muggle one. No one knew, and no one could know, and that killed her. No one would know who he was with her, who he really was, the extent of what he'd done for Dumbledore, Harry, The Order, for this war.

Anxious heads snapped in her direction as she started to scream, tears pouring down her cheeks. She fell to her knees as her breath abandoned her and she lost feeling in her legs. She felt the now cold blood that had soaked into her pants as she tried to save him. _His_ blood. She couldn't stop hyperventilating; she couldn't stop the panic, the fear, and the feeling of utter loss. She couldn't help but be scared. She truly had trusted him; she'd put everything she had into him because she _loved _him. She heard herself screaming, and she felt Molly, Harry, Ginny, Ron, everyone trying to find out what was wrong, but she just couldn't stop. Her wailing echoed through the castle, and everyone empathized with her loss, though they didn't truly know. Everyone had lost people during the battle, but her wail was heart-wrenching to them all nonetheless.

And just as quickly as the attention had been given to her, it was gone. Everyone was standing defensively with their wands out facing the door to the Great Hall. Hermione registered this and tried to pull herself out of her despair. She was only able to stop the screaming and stumble to her feet, but it was progress. And as she did a whisper echoed through the Great Hall, _Snape_. It was on everyone's lips, and she started to push her way to the front, trying to calm her heart which felt like it would burst right out of her chest. She tried not to get her hopes up, but just the idea that maybe he had survived pushed her forward not giving her a moment to think. Harry was at the front of the group, his wand out, but his heart wasn't entirely in it. He knew there was more to Snape's story; the bottle of memories burned a hole in his pocket, but it was too late to take a look now.

And as she finally pushed past Katie Bell to stand beside Harry, she saw him. Covered in dried blood and dirt, his collar torn to pieces by Nagini's razor-sharp fangs, and his hair matted with his own blood, but he was there, and she cared about nothing else. His eyes found hers as soon as she came into his view; she was the only one he wanted to see. The only one he _needed _to be alive. He couldn't lose her. As he had lain there on the floor, in his own blood, his single thought was of her. He needed to live for her; she needed him just as much as he needed her. As he regained consciousness and found himself to indeed be alive, he heard no noises of battle and fear gripped him. There were only two ways it could've ended, and he just prayed she was alive. He would do anything for her; he would face the Dark Lord to save her if he had to. Nothing would keep him from her. His eyes burned into hers, and she longed to be in his arms. And then suddenly the anxiety she'd had about everyone finding out about them, about the judgmental looks and the fallout just disappeared.

She wasn't very spiritual, but she knew deep in her soul that they both had survived, against all the odds, so they could be together. So that she could show him the love he deserved, and so that she could help him rebuild. So that he could hold her when the nightmares eventually came so that he could make her feel safe after everything had been destroyed. So that they could both be happy again.

She felt Harry try to grab her arm as she walked forwards, but she wrenched it free, she could see Severus's eyes light up. He'd worried that maybe she'd want to keep them a secret still, that she was ashamed of him. But the look of relief, and happiness, and love in her eyes assuaged his fears immediately. She couldn't just walk to him, the first few steps were agonizingly slow, and she couldn't contain herself. She needed to feel him, hold him, to know that this was all real, to see that he hadn't truly left her.

She broke into a run as the others in the Great Hall watched on in confusion. Was she going to physically assault him? Why was she running? Why had she been wailing only moments ago? But they soon got their answers.

As soon as she was close to him, she launched herself into his arm. Burying her face into the crook of his neck. He held her, so her feet were off the ground. He gripped her so tightly his knuckles turned white, and he buried his face into her mass of curls letting words of love and thankfulness tumble from his lips in a whisper that only she could hear. He slowly lowered her onto her feet and then they slid to the ground together, never letting go of each other. They sat there, Hermione tucked between his legs, holding each other and whispering thanks to any God who was listening. As Hermione drew back, the entire Great Hall held its breath, including Severus. She looked at him with a loving smile before pulling him into a hard and passionate kiss. A kiss that wanted to prove to her that he was indeed there. Severus hungrily kissed her back, his fingers tangled in her brown curls, not wanting to break the spell of this moment of pure elation.

When they were finally disconnected, Hermione was smiling ear to ear, and Severus let out a loud and hearty laugh the likes of Hogwarts had never heard. He held her to his chest and breathed her in once again.


End file.
